


Like Father, Like Son

by BronsonL



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Baddie, Bullying, Captivity, Cargument, Danger, Family, Friendship, Gen, Hostage Situations, Suspense, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2018-10-25
Packaged: 2019-07-16 03:16:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16077224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BronsonL/pseuds/BronsonL
Summary: Steve and Charlie are in danger and it’s up to Danny to save the day. Steve commandeers Danny’s chaperone duty at Charlie’s baseball team’s overnight camp on board the USS Missouri (he is a Commander after all). As always, trouble follows and Steve learns a lot about Danny’s son. Warning: bullying, language.





	1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimers** : I don't own anything that is a proper noun. No copyright infringement intended. I am also ignorant about Naval sea vessels, baseball, adoption, bullying, and psychiatry, etc. #creativelicense #fye #madeup #justforfun

 **A/N:** The muse got busy again and came up with this short multi-chapter story. I'm almost done, but not quite. Thinking five chapters. We'll see.

I wanted to explore how Steve discovers he has a mini-Danno on his hands. But, if anyone knows my work, no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to do anything without at least a little whump and a baddie. My original fluffy idea, though still there, had neither of these but it somehow morphed as I wrote. Guess I need to give up and accept that I'm destined to be a hurt/comfort/angst/whump/baddie writer. Hope you like it and if so, let me know. Thanks for reading!

\,,,/ BronsonL

* * *

 

**Like Father, Like Son**

"Charlie, are you sure this is something you want to do? You know, your mom won't be there, Grace won't be there… _I_ won't be there."

" _Uncle Steve'll_ be there," Charlie made his case. "I'm sure, Danno. I'm not a little boy anymore."

"Well… you're absolutely right. Seven years old is…"

"Seven and a half," Charlie interrupted and corrected his father.

"Seven and a _half_ , because that half is very important…" Danny tweaked his son's nose which earned him a giggle in return. "…is very much out of the 'little boy' range. _However_ , your Uncle Steve is mentally about the same age as you and your team. Who's going to look out for him?"

"I can look at him."

"Look _out_ for him. You know, make sure he doesn't get into any trouble."

"Oh, Dannooo." He knew his dad was just being silly now. His dad was always like this when he was around or talked about his Uncle Steve. That was just something he did.

"All right. I guess you two can look out for each other then. Did you pack your PJs?"

Charlie nodded and grabbed his favorite pajama top, with the Captain America emblem on it, out of his backpack that was lying on the bed, to prove to his dad he had remembered. When he realized the front was facing him, he crossed his arms to turn the large white star and red and white vertical stripes so that Danny could see.

To Danny, the pajamas almost looked more like a costume than night wear, a very _comfortable_ costume. He cocked a slight grin when the reason why Charlie liked the pajamas so much came to mind... his partner. He knew Charlie thought of Steve as a pseudo-superhero of sorts, and with Uncle Jerry's influence, he had come to equate Steve as a Captain America persona. This outing was going to be right up the alley of the boy's bigger-than-life fantasy.

"Okay, good. Bottoms too?"

"Yep."

"What about your toothbrush?"

The excited look faded and Charlie's smile disappeared.

"Oh, I see. We still got some work to do."

"I remembered my comb." He pulled out and held up the small black styling tool.

"That's my boy," Danny spoke proudly. "But we still need to get a few more necessities." Danny went to the bathroom to get the items his son had 'forgotten'.

The doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" Charlie screamed out as he beat his dad into the living room, his mood switching back to his enthusiastic state.

Charlie had already opened the door by the time his father reached him. Danny conceded to the commanding personality that had just stolen his son's attention. He held onto the door as Steve bent down to lift the small boy into his arms.

"Hey, Charlie. How ya doin? You excited about our adventure?"

"Are you kidding? This is all he's been talking about for days," Danny answered for his son while Charlie nodded.

Leaving Danny to close the door, Steve carried Charlie into the kitchen where he saw more evidence of Charlie's excitement. "I see you're getting ready. Did you sink Danno's battleship?" The board game was still set up on the table with tiny gray seafaring ships with red pegs poking out of some of them and white and red pegs scattered on the vertical board. The game was obviously in a state of suspension, faithfully waiting to progress when the participants were ready. "Not yet, Uncle Steve. And you're not supposed to look behind the wall."

"Yeah, no peeking, Uncle Steve… Rogers."

"What?"

"Steve Rogers? Captain America? You'll see tonight when you all get changed into your jammies."

"Okaaay," Steve accepted.

"You remembered to pack your pajamas, didn't you, Uncle Steve?" The question mimicked his dad from earlier.

"Did I remember to pack my pajamas? Are you kidding me? Of course, I remembered to pack my pajamas. Every sailor needs to have their pajamas to sleep in. They can't sleep in their uniforms. They'd get all wrinkly."

"I'd like to see that," Danny mumbled.

"What? I have pajamas, Daniel." Steve had heard the jab.

"I'm sure you do. Camouflage, I'm guessing."

" _That_ would be Army… no. They're blue. And I didn't see anything, Charlie." He quickly changed the subject. "How could I with such a good wall built here to shield it?"

"Yeah, the cereal boxes are there to block us from seeing each other's game board. We had to stop to get packed, but we're going to go back to it."

"I see. I'm sure Snap, Crackle, and Pop will make sure Danno doesn't look until you get back. So, Mighty Mo's waiting. Are you packed? You about ready to go?" Just as Danny thought, Steve seemed to be almost as eager as Charlie to get their evening started.

"He's just about ready. Just grabbed the last of the necessities before you came in." Danny held up a zippered bag that contained the remaining toiletry items that Charlie had failed to get. "I'll go get your bag. Be right back."

"You know it's been a while since I've been on a battleship. What if I get lost?"

Charlie looked confused. "You won't get lost. Danno says you're a super seal... the best ever."

"He did, huh?" Steve took a second to reflect on the statement then asked, "Do you know what a SEAL is?"

Charlie knew the animal, but he sensed there was something more to it. He'd heard the term said about his uncle many times. Instead of stating the obvious and being embarrassed, he decided to be coy and shook his head without answering.

Steve smiled nonjudgmentally to make Charlie feel more at ease. "A SEAL is a sailor in the Navy that's part of a specially trained team to protect our country."

"A hero?"

Steve was glad he did a good job of his explanation. "Yes, they're heroes… along with all the other servicemen and women in all the branches of the military that protect us."

"You're one of those? A SEAL?"

"I was… at one time."

"Then you're a hero, too?"

"He is, Charlie." Danny had come back into the room with the backpack and helped Steve out of the awkward situation.

"Just like you, Danno," Charlie added.

Now it was time for Steve to help out, "Yep, your dad's a hero, too. So… what are you looking forward to the most, Charlie? The tour? Sleeping in cramped bunks? Eating on the mess deck? The teamwork building activities?"

The overnight encampment aboard the USS Missouri was something the team administrator of Charlie's little league team had come up with. The sixteen-hour stay on the ship had been something Danny had signed up to do with his son, but when Steve 'whined and cried', as described by Danny, about going, and there was only one spot available, Danny gave in. He wasn't sure anyway if his stomach was seaworthy to last that long, even if the ship would never leave its berthing station.

"I want you to show me what you did on the ship when you were in the Army?" Charlie innocently admitted.

Danny literally wrapped his arm around his midsection and doubled over in amusement, only letting a small giggle escape before gaining control to prevent an all-out guffaw. While still bent over, he turned on his heels so he'd be facing away from Charlie when he stood so his facial expression wouldn't give himself away. He was loving this but didn't want to embarrass his son.

Steve wrinkled his brow in a stern look at his distracted partner, not getting the satisfaction of his partner seeing his attempted nonverbal rebuke. "Well, Charlie, I was in the Navy. That's different than the Army, and I never served on the Missouri before, but I'm sure I'll be able to show you some things the other dads won't be able to."

Steve never noticed the implication of his 'other dads' statement, but Danny did, and it didn't bother him. Instead of feeling any pangs of jealousy that Steve was stepping in for him in his paternal role, he actually felt comforted in the reminder that his best friend loved his son as much as he did and that Steve hadn't even given it a second thought that he would be any different than any of the other dads there. The familial blood relation simply was not a necessity. Steve thought of Charlie as his own.

Danny composed himself and flung the backpack that had fallen off his shoulder during his bout of laughing restraint, back into place, wrapping his hand around the front strap. He bent down to Charlie's eye level. "You ready?"

"Yes, Danno."

"Are you going to be good for Uncle Steve, your coaches, and your camp leaders?"

"Yes, Danno. And I'll look out for Uncle Steve, too. Can we go now?"

Steve squinted one eye to match his one-sided grin at that little bit of revelation. His gaze met Danny's when Danny peeked to see if he had caught on to that tidbit of information. Danny smiled knowingly at Steve then redirected his attention back to Charlie.

"Okay. Here you go." Danny slipped the backpack off his shoulder and helped to loop both straps around Charlie's arms. "Have fun, okay? I love you." Danny leaned over and gave his son a kiss on top of his head then finger combed the stray hairs he had mussed by doing so.

"I love you, too, Danno."

"Love you more," Danny added.

With one more smile shared between the men, Steve softly laid his hand on the back of Charlie's head and guided him in front of him toward the door.

"Love you too, super SEAL."

"Love you more, buddy."

Danny rolled his eyes and closed the door as the adventurers were about to start their journey.

* * *

_~to be continued~_

\,,,/


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:**   Thanks to all who have given this little story a try and especially to those who have subscribed, bookmarked, given kudos and commented.  It's so appreciated. \,,,/ BronsonL

* * *

"There it is, Charlie… Mighty Mo… the battleship USS Missouri. Isn't she beautiful?"

Looking a little intimidated, Charlie merely nodded while he took in the impressive ship. Steve smiled as he went back and forth between looking at Charlie and the road, delighted at the sight of the child being in awe of the vessel.

As Steve parked his truck, he saw a group of young boys standing together and a couple of others running to join them. Charlie had seen them too and his attention was immediately diverted to his friends. He excitedly stretched his body and neck as best as he could to see what they were doing. He didn't want to be left out. Steve unbuckled his seatbelt and reached to help Charlie who was struggling to get his undone. He had no sooner got it unlatched, when Charlie managed to get the door open and started running to join the others.

"Hey! Hey! Charlie! You forgetting something?" Steve held up the boy's backpack with one hand as he flung his own over his shoulder.

Charlie turned back to see what he had forgotten and reluctantly ran back to get his bag. "Oh, yeah, Uncle Steve, I forgot." He grabbed the bag and was off again to join his teammates.

Steve casually strolled up and put his hand out to shake hands with the coach and one of the dads who stood behind the group of boys while they awaited the arrival of the others. "Coach Maki and… don't tell me… Phillip?"

"Good memory," Phillip complimented.

Another father-son pair approached them. The junior of the two stood a couple inches taller than the other boys and bumped one of his teammates as he ran up, making his target stumble into his brother. The instigator laughed. "Sorry, Corey," he said insincerely. "Sorry, Cam."

"Hey, Tyler," most of the boys mumbled in dutiful greeting, obviously not thrilled with the new addition.

Steve narrowed his eyes in disapproval of the boy's behavior and noticed when Charlie moved a step away from the latest addition. He looked at Tyler's father to see if he would say anything about his son's behavior but wasn't surprised by the lack of a forthcoming scolding. Instead, the man remained quiet and gave a quick glance at each of the other chaperones, one at a time, through the veil of his eyelashes. His shoulders drooped as he held his hands in his pockets and displayed an air of shyness, standing back from the crowd.

"Hi, I'm Maki, the coach. I don't think we've met." Coach Maki held out his hand to greet the newcomer.

"Hey, how's it going?" he obligatorily replied with a limp handshake.

"Are you?…" Maki waited for the man to fill him in since he was used to seeing Tyler's stepfather at games.

"Jim. Tyler's dad," was the laconic reply.

"Well, Jim. It's good to meet you. Glad you could come. Think we'll have fun."

Jim attempted a smile, obviously not as enthusiastic as the others.

To end the awkward silence, Phillip turned back to Steve, "So, where's Williams? Is he not coming?".

Suddenly feeling a little self-conscious, Steve sheepishly downplayed reality, "Uh, no, I kinda volunteered."

"Well, I guess this sort of thing _is_ right up your alley. Right, Commander?"

"Steve… please," he corrected. "Yeah, I guess so. Guess you'd say I'm just about as excited as Charlie."

"Commander?" One of the other dads questioned.

"Yeah, this is Commander McGarrett, Navy SEAL and now runs Five-0. He's here for Charlie Williams," Coach Maki explained.

"Commander, I'm Leif Troutman, Trevor's dad. I think I've seen you at some games." He shook Steve's hand.

"As many as I can. You can call me Steve."

"Sure, Steve, impressive résumé."

Charlie looked up at his Uncle Steve and beamed with pride.

Tyler's dad let his prolonged gaze fall on Steve this time. He was no longer vacillating between his sorry attempt at social etiquette and his perceived bashfulness. Once he got his fill, he let his long, thin black hair fall over one of his eyes.

"Well, I'm just an uncle for this excursion. Charlie and I have been looking forward to this. Haven't we, Charlie?"

"Yes, sir."

As others arrived and the team and its chaperones naturally separated from each other, both groups talked and laughed with anticipation as they waited for the okay to board the ship. In his peripheral vision, Steve noticed that Tyler's dad was standing back from the others and not engaging in the conversations. He furtively slid back, away from the others, to stand beside Jim. Steve widened his stance and crossed his arms as he watched the activity of the group.

"Hey, I'm Steve."

"Hey." Jim flipped his hair from covering one side of his face to the side nearer to Steve.

"So, uh, I've seen you at the games. Yes?"

"Ah, no, I haven't been able to make one yet."

"Oh, sorry, you look… I just thought I had seen you there. … Looks like the boys are excited." He released one arm to point his thumb in the direction of the group.

"Yep, it looks like it."

Another laconic reply. _This was like pulling teeth_. "So, has Tyler been looking forward to this as much as Charlie?"

"I guess. Look, I don't mean to be rude, but this really isn't my thing. I just wanted to spend some time with my son. I don't really get a chance to with my job, and his mom thought this would be a good time."

"Okay, sure. Well, I'm sure Tyler will appreciate it." Steve tried to hold his tongue to respect Jim's aversion to being sociable, but his curiosity won out and he pressed on. "So, what kind of work do you do, Jim?" Steve reasoned that since Jim had been the first to mention his job and that it kept him away from spending time with his son, he thought he could follow up on that.

"Hey, guys! Come on. They're hailing us to come aboard!" Coach Maki was making a broad, sweeping gesture with his whole arm to get the men to follow. Most of the boys had already taken off running. Charlie looked back at his uncle for permission.

"Go on, Charlie! It's okay!" Steve yelled out.

"Guess we better get going, too," Jim said as he bent down for his duffle and then left Steve behind without waiting for a reply.

"Guess so," Steve mumbled to himself, feeling the cold shoulder from Jim. He grabbed his bag and jogged to catch up with the others.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

A tour of the ship was the first thing on the itinerary, also called the POD, or Plan of the Day as Steve explained to Charlie. The USS Missouri's night camp administrator, Ed, who was also the team's tour guide, first went over all the guidelines and safety instructions for the duration of the camp.

"It's important to stay with your group in the areas that are set apart for the camp. If it is locked, blocked, roped off, or if it says 'Off Limits', don't go there. This is a large ship with lots of hazards and hidden dangers if you don't respect it." He pointed to a small circular hatch in the floor behind a barrier. "For example, see that? Stay away. That would be an… uncomfortable fall."

The group could tell he was downplaying possible consequences by using the understated word. Charlie's eyes grew wide and he discreetly took Steve's hand. Steve looked down and grinned at his nephew, taking pleasure in the unassuming contact. He then noticed Tyler roll his eyes and smirk at their tour guide's warning. He then elbowed the boy next to him and laughed, "That doesn't include Chubbs, here. He wouldn't be able to fit through the hole anyway." Even though a few of the boys felt obliged to smile at the remark, Tyler was the only one left laughing but he didn't seem to care.

"Uh, _respect_ also extends to your teammates, Tyler. Got it?" Coach Maki tried to take control. Some of the chaperones nodded in agreement or glanced at each other to gauge the others' reactions. Steve was directly across from Jim in the circle where they stood and could see him shift on his feet but didn't have an input. At this point, Steve was not surprised. He dropped his hold of Charlie's hand and sidestepped one of the boys in front of him and leaned over putting his hand on Tyler's shoulder.

"Hey, buddy. You know what? Some of us want to hear what the guide has to teach us. Why don't you stand over here next to me where you'll have a better view and maybe I can let you in on some of my personal experiences, 'kay?" While still bent over Steve deliberately looked up to get eye contact with Jim, silently asking for permission. Jim nodded.

Trying to ward off further embarrassment, Tyler relented as if he were going to be the one to benefit. "Ah, all right, if it's a better view."

Ed had another surprise for the group that didn't go over too well. "So, another thing, I've already talked with your coach about this and he's agreed. We normally recommend that no phones, devices, or anything with a screen be kept by the campers because it's a distraction to the experience. Coach Maki's going to take them up…"

A chorus of groans and "nuh-uhn"s and "ah man"s could be heard from the group.

"Sorry, guys. It's for the good of the experience and the reason we're here." Coach Maki had a corded cloth cinch sack and held it out for each of the boys. Several of the boys still didn't have a phone at such a young age and they felt unaffected. However, a couple had to pull a tablet out of their packed bags to surrender.

Once he had gotten all of the boys' devices, he moved on to the dads. "Chaperones, too." The reaction from the elder members of the group was pretty much the same as the younger ones. "Come on, it's for the experience… and it's only fair." This got the boys to smile, very pleased that they weren't the only ones that were going to be cut off from the outside world. Many excuses and reasons for exceptions flew at the coach. Ed stepped in to help.

"Look, guys, we do this all the time. We've got all of your emergency contacts and they all have my personal phone number as well as management's. It's only for sixteen hours. If there's an emergency, you'll be contacted immediately. Trust me."

All of the dads finally, but reluctantly, agreed and gave up their devices, too… except for Steve. He stood with his arms crossed over his chest and waited for this little activity to be over before they moved on, totally assuming he was exempt. He was, of course, head of Five-0 and at the beck and call of the governor.

Coach Maki stepped up to him. "Come on Steve, you too. You're here as _Uncle_ Steve, remember? You're not Commander McGarrett, running Five-0 tonight. You're here for the fun and experience, just like the boys. You need to be an example to Charlie and the others. I've got 'cha. I'm sure your team will be fine on their own for sixteen hours. They probably won't even miss you, _but_ if they do, I'll immediately let you know if you're needed."

Steve _did_ want to be a good example and felt himself giving in. "Immediately?"

"Immediately. Really… don't worry."

Steve let the phone dangle above the open bag for several seconds as he thought it through one more time. Then he finally surrendered, letting it drop in with the others.

"Good choice," Maki affirmed. "You'll be glad you did."

"We'll see."

The camp administrator and tour guide, Ed, took back over, explaining the yellow bullseye signs that acted as locational references and pointing out bathrooms. He then took them to the berthing area where they'd be sleeping so they could dump their bags before moving on with the tour. At arriving at the stacked beds, Tyler took off, picking a prime spot on the lowest level, and claimed it as his own. Seeing Tyler's selection, Charlie maneuvered Steve to the farthest place from Tyler that had not yet been chosen. He also took the bottom bunk and Steve took the one above him. The bed above that was left open.

"Are you sure you don't want one of the upper beds?" Steve volunteered.

"I'm sure," Charlie answered and then hesitated before making an observation. "These beds are very close together."

"These ships had a lot of sailors on them when they were active. They had to fit them in somehow," Steve explained.

"Oh. Well, they're just really small."

"At the end of a long day, when you're really tired, you'd sleep in a gun turret if you needed to. These mattresses are thin but are actually pretty comfortable. You'll see. Come on let's get back with the others."

"Okay," Charlie said as he timorously looked back at the bunk he had left his bag on.

Ed waited for the group to finish and then they moved down the passageway where they ultimately ended up at the true starting point for the tour, the mess deck, where they'd be eating later when the tour was over. Throughout the tour, Ed found himself having to stop ever so often to allow Steve, Charlie, and another camper or two who had become enthralled with Steve's personal knowledge and stories, to catch up with the others. Ed would not-so-patiently rest both hands on his hips and either contort his face, roll his eyes, or check his watch in the futile hope of keeping on schedule. Sincerely feeling genuine contrition in the moment, Steve would try to make up for the lagging with a few "sorry"s and "my fault"s, only to find himself balancing on the balls of his feet while crouched down to point out another amazing piece of information to Charlie and any others that were interested.

After the guide half-seriously and half-sarcastically offered him the honor of directing the tour, Steve reluctantly conceded to his authority and let him run the tour at his preplanned pace, all the while thinking he could probably do a more thorough job, extra time notwithstanding. For some reason, he kept hearing "putz" in his head that sounded very much like a familiar voice, Danny's voice.

The group got to eat a filling, kid-friendly and adult-tolerated meal of breaded chicken tenders, potato wedges, and some sort of pasta with marinara, a recipe that would _not_ be on the restaurant's menu, Steve thought to himself. Then it was time for the anticipated activities. Several hours passed of knot tying lessons and team building activities, that Steve would call games, all aptly named of course, like Shark Rescue, Man the Lifeboats, and All Aboard. This led to a bunch of tired campers, kids and adults alike, so there wasn't much complaining when the call was made to hit the racks. Once settled into their bunks, some even choosing to buckle the strap to prevent an imagined fall, the talking and giggling gradually diminished, one by one, until everything was dark and quiet.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

He wasn't sure why his eyes just opened. He hadn't been having a dream, good or bad, hadn't heard any noises, hadn't felt a movement that would cause him to wake, but he was awake now and unsettlingly alert in that he didn't feel sleepy, but his mind was still a little fuzzy. He lay there for a moment to fully remember where he was and once that quickly came back to him, he recounted the events from the evening. A quick glance at his watch told him it was early morning. Everything was dark except for the dim safety lights glowing near the floor. Steve raised up on his elbow and used the minimal light to look around. Everyone was asleep. He heard snoring coming from more than one source near him, but he couldn't tell from where or whom.

Grabbing the edge of his bed, he peeped under his berth to check on Charlie. He saw the crumpled mess of the blanket that Charlie would be snuggled under and Steve smiled and pulled himself back up. Then a gnawing inside him caused him to inspect the lower bunk again. He was right. The bed was empty. He immediately jumped to the ground and pulled Charlie's blanket back to make sure he wasn't seeing things… no Charlie.

"Charlie?" He whispered as he looked around in his general vicinity. He, for the most part, was only greeted with a chorus of varying volumes of snoring. Trevor, however, who was in the bunk across from him, had heard Steve's whisper.

"Are you looking for Charlie?"

Steve spun to see the boy not bothering to budge. He was almost entirely cocooned in the comfort of his blankets; only his closed eyes and nose were showing.

"Yeah, Trevor. Do you know where he is?" he quietly asked, careful not to awaken the others.

"He had to take a whiz," Trevor drowsily spoke aloud, not caring if he awoke anyone else.

"'kay. Thanks." The safety lights that glowed near the floor gave Steve enough light to see where he was going, but he was wishing he had his phone in case he needed some additional light. Rules are rules. He would have to make due with what he had. As he silently crept between the other beds in his bare feet, he passed another empty bunk… Tyler's.

* * *

_~to be continued~_

\,,,/


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Again, thanks for the kudos, comments, bookmarks, and subscriptions. It's encouraging and appreciated.

Would anyone like to ramp it up just a bit? Here's where the muse decided to go its own direction. I just followed along aimlessly. Hope you enjoy.

**Disclaimer** : I don't own anything that is a proper noun. No copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

Charlie had brushed his teeth and gotten into his Captain America pajamas which had gotten the reaction he had wanted from his uncle. Steve now understood Danny's comments from earlier in the day and had gushingly approved of Charlie's choice.

Charlie had been tired and was not used to staying awake so late, so he had fallen asleep quickly. When he woke up, it took him a minute to figure out where he was; he wasn't in his bed at his mom's house and he wasn't in his racecar bed at Danno's. All he could see in the dim light was that the ceiling was way too close to his face. He then remembered the overnight encampment and the very close quarters of the sleeping area.

It wasn't unusual for him to have to make a trip to the bathroom in the middle of the night, but now he wasn't on his own turf and he thought about not even bothering. However, he also knew if he had an accident and if any of his teammates found out, especially Tyler, he'd never live it down. Plus, he had told his dad he wasn't a little boy anymore and he wanted to show Uncle Steve that he could manage on his own, too. He gently got out of bed and stood looking at his uncle a moment. He wanted to wake him up, but he was sleeping soundly and he needed to prove to himself that he could be brave just like his dad and Uncle Steve.

Charlie made it to the bathroom he had used earlier that night to brush his teeth, but as he was getting ready to step over the threshold of the door, Tyler grabbed both sides and stepped out to stand directly in his way.

"Can't go in there," Tyler warned in a hushed voice, just above a whisper.

"Why not?" Charlie timidly asked.

"Out of order. You'll need to go to one of the other ones, down the hall."

"I just got to… are you sure?"

"Yep. If you're too scared to go on your own, go get your Uncle Navy SEAL. I'm sure he'll go with you, and hold your hand, too, if you need it."

Charlie pursed his lips into a thin frown. "I'm not scared," he blurted out in a half whisper.

"All right then, prove it. There's another john down the hall on the level below us. The easiest way to get there is that hatch down there. You'll be back in no time."

"They told us to stay in this area… and that's one of those doors we're not supposed to go through."

"Yeah, but they didn't know their bathrooms were going to break down. You don't think they'd keep a bunch of kids from going to the bathroom if they needed to, do ya?"

Charlie sighed an accepting breath.

"Go on. What'cha waitin' for?"

"Okay. I'm going."

Charlie made an earnest effort to be brave and actually made it several steps before hesitating. He turned around to see Tyler leaning against the wall watching him, a big smile plastered on his face. A hint of a reciprocated smile dissipated as soon as he turned back. He knew he had to go on. He had to show Tyler he wasn't afraid. Going to ask Uncle Steve or even finding Ed, the camp administrator, was out of the question. He took a moment to look down at the star on his chest and then stood up as straight as he could and pulled his shoulders back. He lifted his chin upward and started down the passageway again.

Tyler watched Charlie get farther and farther away from him. He was almost out of his sight in the insufficient light, but he was able to see when he stopped at the small alcove that housed the hatch he had spoken of. Charlie moved the small yellow rope that was draped in front of the hatch and supported an "Off Limits" sign and began to disappear down the steps. Tyler was shocked. He truly didn't believe that the smaller, naïve participant in his own personal narcissistic game would actually do it.

"Charlie?" Tyler kept his voice at a loud whisper. "Charlie?" He found himself following after his teammate, somewhat in awe of the boy's demonstrated fearlessness.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

The level below was darker than the one above, but was still lit with safety lights. And even though it had been silent on the upper level, this level somehow seemed even quieter. Charlie pattered along in his bare feet on the cold linoleum tile floor, carefully peeking inside each door on either side of the hallway as he came to it again. Unlike his first time down this hallway when looking for the bathroom, this time he lingered a little longer at each one out of curiosity. After a few turns and backtracking, he was now on his way back to the steps that would lead him up to the level where his team and uncle would be sleeping.

"Charlie? There you are."

"Tyler? Why are you down here?"

"I… I was looking for you. I was gonna tell you, you can use the bathroom now. It's okay."

"Already went. There's one back there." He turned just enough to point down the hallway in the direction he had come from. "I'm going back to bed now." He passed right by Tyler, determined not to be hindered by him anymore.

"Hey! Wait up!" Tyler caught up to Charlie. "Do you know where you're going?"

"Sure. The steps are just up here."

"I don't know. I think we missed a turn."

Charlie stopped and looked back and then in the direction he had been heading. Maybe he wasn't sure.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

"Jim. Hey, Jim, you awake?" Steve hated to wake him but didn't hesitate when he laid his hand on the sleeping man's shoulder and pushed just enough to get a reaction.

"Yeah, what? What's going on?" Jim's gruff, irritated voice started very weak and grew more animated as he became aware.

"Do you know where Tyler is?"

"Try the john. I don't know." He rolled away from Steve onto his side and pulled his blanket over his shoulder.

"I just came from there. He's not there and neither is Charlie. Hey, man, come on, wake up. The boys aren't in bed and they're not 'in the john'. I just checked. They're not around here. We need to go find them. … Jim?" Steve stood upright with his hands firmly on his hips staring down at this sad excuse for a father. "Just forget it. I thought you'd want to know. I'll go on my own."

"All right already. I'm coming." Jim swung his legs off the bunk and put his elbows on his knees as he scratched his scalp with both hands. "Gimme a sec to throw on my jeans." He then took one deep breath and jumped down. He grabbed his jeans that were crumpled at the end of the bunk and pulled them on over his boxers. He patted his back pocket and yawned, not even attempting to hide it, and the two men were off on their way down the hall.

When they got to the mess area where many of the activities had taken place the night before, Steve saw a large Maglite flashlight that had been used in one of the games… uh, team building exercises. He detoured slightly to pick it up, thinking it may come in handy, and they continued with their search.

"Ah, nah, Charlie, what're you doing?" Steve spoke out loud but to himself. They had come upon the open hatch that led to the lower level when he saw the rope barrier had been moved out of the way.

"What? You think they went down there?" Jim asked.

"Well they're not up here and the rope's been moved, so yeah, I think they went down there."

"Well, that's just beautiful. Damn it, kid, you really screwed the pooch this time." This time, it was Jim's turn to talk aloud to the person that wasn't there.

"What'd you say?" With a surprised recognition, Steve shined his light toward Jim.

"Hey, cool it with the light, will ya? Never mind, let's just find them so we can get back to sleep."

"Yeah, sure." Steve removed the light from Jim's eyes but continued to stare. _If not at the ball games, where had he encountered this guy before?_ He shook his head to get back on task and led the way down the narrow opening and waited for Jim at the bottom.

"Come on, this way," Steve asserted his authority in this search as soon as Jim had joined him. He heard the subsequent, annoyed sigh but chose to ignore it as he went down the corridor, assuming Jim was following after him. "Charlie? Tyler?" Every so often, he called out the names of the missing boys, getting no help from his unenthusiastic companion.

"It's hot down here," Jim complained.

Without turning back, Steve countered, "The sooner we find them, the sooner we can get back up where it's cooler. Charlie?"

"Uncle Steve?"

"Charlie," he confirmed to himself. "Charlie?!"

"Uncle Steve? Is that you?"

Steve turned to see Jim looking down a smaller passageway that cut across to the other side of the ship. Although Jim obviously heard the voice too, he stood stationary as he waited for Steve to again lead the way. Exasperated, Steve retraced his steps back and ignored Jim as he stepped in front of him to turn toward the source of the voice.

"Charlie? Where are you?! Keep calling out!"

"We're here."

Steve quickened his steps and the voice that had started as a distant murmur grew louder as they made another turn. Holding the flashlight up at a higher angle, he saw Charlie moving toward him in his super hero pajamas. Relief replaced the uneasiness that had imperceptibly grown into a tenacious sick feeling.

Charlie ran up and wrapped his arms around Steve's legs, clearly unconcerned by any teasing that may ultimately come his way at Tyler's amusement. Steve, in turn, laid a comforting hand on his back, giving him a few pats before squatting down to his level. He set his flashlight on the floor and gave Charlie a legitimate hug.

In the narrow hallway, the newly reunited pair blocked the other father-son duo from their own reunion. The obstruction, however, didn't come across as unwelcome as Steve stood up to move out of the way to allow Jim to connect with his son. Instead, Jim angrily laid into Tyler and insinuated Charlie's participation as part of the reason for his aggravation.

"What the hell were you two thinking? Did you think you were going on some kind of elaborate treasure hunt or something?"

"I was just looking for a bathroom," Charlie confessed to Steve in a whisper, wondering what he had done that was so wrong.

"Damn it, Tyler!" Jim continued his very vocal reprimand.

"Now hold on, Jim." Steve left Charlie and put his hand on Jim's chest, trying to gauge if the man would try anything physical toward his son as an outlet for his anger. Steve purposefully stared directly into his eyes at this close contact and then fell back a step when another déjà vu feeling assaulted him.

Jim slapped his hand away. "Keep your mitts off me, copper, I… I mean McGarrett. Damn it's hot." He removed the elastic band that was wrapped around his wrist and pulled his long hair away from his face into a meager bun on top of his head.

The initial elusive recognition, the "screwed the pooch" comment, the challenging manner complete with the "copper" slip, and now the fully revealed face with the distinct, familiar coiffure… that was the last piece of the puzzle Steve needed. He now remembered where he had seen Jim before. The cartel takedown had occurred three months ago. He had been the gunman to the right of his leader and had somehow been the lone member who managed to flee the scene during the hailstorm of bullets, wearing his hair like it was now and exclaiming to the obviously lesser soldiers that they had "screwed the pooch".

Steve froze as he stared at Jim… too long.

Jim saw it too… the cold icy stare and hesitation. He had managed to stay off this Five-0 guy's radar this long, but he realized the jig was up. He smiled innocently as he covertly slipped his right hand behind him for access to his back pocket in preparation.

This was the first time Steve had seen this man smile and he knew it wasn't genuine. He looked down at Charlie, who was still standing beside him, to tell him to go join Tyler. Taking his eyes off Jim in that second proved to be his mistake. Before he could issue his instruction to Charlie, Jim struck out like a cornered animal. In a fluid movement, he picked up the Maglite and forcibly hit an unsuspecting Steve on the side of his head sending him to the ground. He then dropped the light and grabbed Charlie's arm, pulling him to his body and wrapping his arm around his chest. In the same motion, he produced an automatic knife holding it dangerously close to Charlie's neck.

From the ground, Steve recovered quickly, pushing up to sitting. He saw what was happening and his heartbeat began to race and he knew he had made an egregious error in letting down his guard. "Whoa, hey." He threw up his left hand to calm the situation as he still leaned on his right. "Jim, come on, take it easy now. Okay?"

"Dad?" Standing behind Steve, Tyler's eyes were wide as he witnessed the standoff.

"Tyler, get over here. Now!" Jim kept constant watch on Steve as he gave the order.

Steve unassertively and gingerly got to his feet, swaying slightly at the change in position. He took turns glancing from Jim to Charlie, trying to impart to the child some sort of encouragement and semblance of having things under control so as to abate his fear. He could see tears brimming on his bottom lashes but he was doing one hell of a job holding back an all-out sobbing release of his fears.

Tyler carefully stepped around Steve, having to turn sideways to get past him. "Dad? I… I don't underst…"

"Shut up, Tyler! Just get behind me!"

Tyler did as he was told, sharing a moment of eye contact with Charlie. Even with his own scared, pale expression, he communicated an unspoken apology with his eyes as he disappeared from Charlie's sight.

"Hey, this is your show, man. Come on. What'da you need from me? Huh?" It broke Steve's heart to see the confused and frightened look on Charlie's face. He wanted to be Uncle Steve and speak directly to him, but he had to be in hostage negotiating mode now. A wink and the slightest of smiles would have to be enough for now to convey his encouragement to be brave to his nephew.

"I need you to take a step back. I need space. Back up!"

"Okay. You got it." Steve passively took one large step backward. "See? Okay? I'm back. Now can we just talk? Just let the boys go. We'll talk man to man."

Obviously ignoring Steve's pleading, Jim's eyes started shifting from Steve to his surroundings, looking for his next move. He spied a door behind Steve. "In there! Behind you! Get in there!"

Steve glanced over his shoulder to see where Jim was alluding to and saw the door. Jim jerked Charlie closer to him causing him to squint but he still controlled his tears.

"All right! You got it. Whatever you say." He spoke calmly as he backed toward the door. He only lowered his hands to grab onto the side of the door to help him step over and into the tiny, dark room.

"Tyler! Flashlight!" Tyler knew what Jim wanted as he picked the light up off the floor and handed it toward his father. Jim's hands were otherwise occupied and couldn't take the offered light. He pushed Charlie forward as they walked toward the door. "In there. Shine it in there." Tyler did as he was told. "Back up! Farther!"

Steve knew he was talking to him and backed as far as he could go into the room.

"'kay, kid, you're next. Get in."

"Come on, Charlie," Steve encouraged, eager to get him away from Jim and into his arms. "It's okay. Do as he says."

The process of getting Charlie into the room with Steve was uneventful. Now, having a free hand, Jim grabbed the flashlight from Tyler and flung it into the open door. Steve took hold of Charlie's wrist and pulled him away from the flying object just before it could hit him. The light landed on the floor with a thud and spun around a few times, casting an odd light show on the inside walls.

"You got close again, copper," Jim stated almost admiringly. "Maybe next time," he posed the challenge. At that, he slammed the door closed. He closed and slipped his knife back in his pocket and began looking in all directions until he found what he was looking for. He grabbed the wrought iron directional sign and was able to easily twist the top frame off. He then went back to the room that he'd put Steve and Charlie in and slid the iron bar through the circular handle, affixing it in such a way that it couldn't be turned unless the bar was removed. He grabbed Tyler by the upper arm and headed back the way they had come. "Let's go." Tyler looked over his shoulder, stunned at what was happening, as he was guided away.

* * *

_~to be continued~_

\,,,/


	4. Chapter 4

#creativelicense #imnoexpert

* * *

_Danny would kill him…_

After peppering Charlie with the same question in different forms, over and over again until he was satisfied the boy was physically okay, Steve pulled him into a hug. He mused that if he made it out of this, he would only live long enough for Danny to kill him. As sure as those hands would dance in time with his tongue, Mr. Negativity would throw it in his face that he continues to be the epitome of a trouble magnet and in no scenario would he ever be allowed to be alone with either of his kids again. Then he would kill him to make sure.

Charlie's head was still buried in his shoulder. His hand held the back of his head reassuringly until he felt Charlie's readiness to withdraw from the hold. Charlie pulled back and Steve could feel the cold, damp spot where his tee shirt had soaked up scared tears.

"Why is Tyler's dad mean?"

A little dumbstruck by the question, Steve simply answered, "I'm not sure."

"Will Tyler be all right?"

"Yes, I think Tyler will be all right. His dad has just made some poor decisions and once he sees that there are people who can help him and Tyler, they'll both be just fine. What is it, Charlie?" Steve narrowed his focus when he saw the way Charlie was staring at him.

"You're bleeding."

Steve ran the back of his hand along the side of his throbbing temple and felt the soreness of the touch and the beginning of a goose egg forming. He then tilted his hand toward the light source to see what Charlie had seen.

"It's ok, buddy. It's not bad. Dudn't even hurt." He smiled, hoping Charlie bought it.

"You get hurt a lot."

"Okay, little Danny," amazed at the similarity to his partner, wondering if Charlie would call him a trouble magnet next. "Yes, I get hurt sometimes, but it's just part of my job and your Uncle Steve is tough. Right?"

"Right. You're a SEAL."

"That's right, buddy, I'm a SEAL."

Steve could see the wheels turning in the little head. "Danno gets hurt sometimes, too." Steve's memory went to the all-too-recent gunshot that almost took his best friend. "…but he's not a SEAL."

Steve could see an epiphany revealed in Charlie's unfocused eyes as his juvenile imagination tried to take him places that a seven-year-old should not have to go. Worry gradually trickled across his face.

"Hey, hey, listen to me." Staying seated on the floor, Steve reached above his head and knocked on the girder above him. "Hear that? That's steel. Your Danno is just as tough as that steel. All right? He may not be a Navy SEAL, but he's one of the strongest, toughest people I know. There's no need for you to worry about him. Okay?"

"Okay." Charlie must have accepted and believed Steve's words because his shoulders relaxed just a bit but still held a rigidity due to the uncertainty of their current situation. His attention turned from his uncle to the room, turning his head to the right and then the left and then craning as far as he could see behind him without losing contact with Steve.

Steve answered his unasked question, "It's a propulsion console room. See all the dials and levers… that's part of what makes this girl move on the water."

"Girl?"

"That's what sailors call their ships. I know… silly, isn't it?" He tickled Charlie's side which earned Steve a giggle.

"Girls are yucky."

"Yeah, buddy, I get what you're saying, but just give it some time. You may change your mind."

"Nuhn-uhn."

Steve once again smiled and was liking the lighthearted mood. He thought Charlie was probably feeling better, and therefore sensed that this could be a good time to see about getting them out of here. "Can you sit here a minute? I'm going to check the door. You sure you're okay?"

Charlie nodded.

The flashlight was still on the ground, sending a beam of light, the only light, out to illuminate the space. Steve reached over and pulled the light toward him and shined it in the direction of the door. He climbed to his feet and immediately leaned on the same girder he had tapped a minute ago to get through the dizziness that swept over him at the change in position. Once the spell was over, he tried the door, only to find what he had figured, it didn't budge. Even though expected, he still felt disappointed and blew out some frustration in a loud huff. He then halfheartedly tried the light switch and again was met with disappointment.

He turned back to Charlie. "We might be here just a little bit. Shouldn't take too long. Someone will be looking for us soon," he tried to reassure. He knew they'd be found, but what he didn't necessarily believe is that it would be as soon as what he was telling Charlie. The beam from the light looked strong and bright, but he wasn't sure how long that would last.

"So, the door won't open?" Charlie genuinely seemed nonplussed.

"No, buddy, it's jammed. I tell you what. While we wait, why don't you come over here beside me and try to get some shuteye?" Steve was already easing himself back down in the same place as before. He patted the floor beside him. "You're gonna be tired in the morning if you don't get some sleep." Steve was hoping he would save Charlie some anxiety if he could sleep through some of the hours. He had also hoped to turn off the flashlight for a while to save the battery life. He was pretty sure that wouldn't go over well if Charlie was still awake.

Charlie held his ground. He stood staring at the door and didn't see Steve's gesture. Steve reached out and grabbed Charlie's hand. He sensed a subtle trembling in the touch and his small hand felt cold and clammy, even in the hot, stuffy air.

"Charlie? Hey, buddy, you okay?"

Charlie finally looked away from the door but again started to look around. He pulled his hand from Steve's grasp and looked above him and then unlike before, he pivoted his whole body around to see the interior of the room.

"You sure you can't get it open?"

"It's stuck. But, someone…"

"It's small."

"What's small?"

"The room… it's small."

"Um, yeah, it's a little small… kinda like the tent in your backyard. You remember that? The night me, you, and Danno stayed in the tent?

…That was a fun night.

…Wasn't it, Charlie?"

Charlie turned back to stare at the door and Steve could see his chest rising and falling with the larger breaths he was taking.

"You remember, Danno complained about the outside noises? He didn't like that. Remember, Charlie?"

"There wasn't a door," Charlie stated matter-of-factly.

Steve swung his feet around and got on his knees in front of Charlie, grabbing both of his arms.

"Hey, buddy, tell me what's going on. What are you thinking about? Look at me, Charlie."

"It's small."

"I'm right here, okay? You're fine. I'm fine. We're going to be out of here real soon and… Charlie?" Steve lightly laid his hand on Charlie's chest. His heart was beating fast and hard.

Charlie was his father's son… the lopsided grin, the mischievous sparkle in the blue eyes, the fearlessness, the innocent comments that were unintentionally so like his dad. He was Danno made over… and now he knew that included the claustrophobia.

Steve swiped at the sweat forming on Charlie's forehead and rubbed it off on his pajama pants and then wiped his own brow, trying to stave off his own foreign feeling of being unprepared to handle this wrench.

"Uncle Steve?"

"Yeah, buddy, what is it?"

"I don't feel too good."

"It's okay. You're feeling kinda scared right now. That's perfectly normal."

"My tummy hurts." Charlie's breaths were coming faster and his eyes were darting around the room, sometimes landing on Steve but never staying there.

"Charlie, look at me. Okay? Look at me. I think I know something that can help."

Charlie tuned him out. "I think I need to get out of here. I need to go."

"I know. It's okay. Just a little longer. Charlie, look at me."

"I need… to go…, Uncle… Steve." Charlie's plea sounded urgent as he spoke the words between each breath.

Charlie was not listening to Steve. He was in his own trapped world.

"Look at me, Charlie. Eyes right here." Steve pointed two of his fingers at his own eyes as he held onto Charlie's other arm. Still not getting his attention, he rubbed his hand above his upper lip and then down to his neck, flirting with an idea in his head, an idea he didn't want to resort to but felt he was running out of options. He spoke calmly one more time, "Charlie?" He sensed his nephew would be in an all-out panic soon so he gave in. "Charlie!" he yelled, shaking the boy gently but as firmly as he needed to get his attention.

It had worked. Charlie was quiet and looking in Steve's eyes. "I know you're scared, but you're okay. We're going to go soon, but until then I think I know something that can help. There's a little game your dad and I played once." At the mention of his dad, Charlie seemed intrigued.

"Danno?"

"Yeah, one time, we were alone and Danno was feeling a little anxious because we had to wait before we could leave and he taught me this game. You want to learn it?"

Charlie nodded as his breathing eased a bit.

"All right? What I want you to do is recite every player on your team and the position they play. Can you do that?"

Charlie crinkled up his nose in confusion. "Huh?"

"Just try, Charlie. Okay? For me. Let's see if you can do it."

Tyler was at the forefront of Charlie's mind, so it didn't surprise Steve that he was the first one named.

"Good, Charlie. And what's his position?"

"Catcher."

"Okay, next. Who's next?"

"There's Trevor. He's shortstop. And Corey and Cameron."

"Positions?"

"Corey's on second and Cameron's our pitcher."

"Charlie, you're doing great. Keep going."

Sure enough, it worked again. Charlie was able to get through his whole team and by the time he finished, his breathing had evened out and the shaking had subsided. Steve could still feel his arms trembling and the sweat was still on his brow making his hair stick to his forehead in clumps.

"Do you want to try sitting down beside me now?"

Without an answer, Charlie settled onto the floor beside his uncle. Steve draped his arm around his shoulders and pulled him close. Then he finger-combed Charlie's bangs away from his eyes and they remained there due to their dampness.

"Close your eyes and try to get some sleep if you can."

Charlie tensed and shook his head.

Fearing he could slip back into his panicked state, Steve calmly rescinded his suggestion. "It's okay. We'll just hang out together, you and me."

Charlie's body relaxed again and they sat in silence for a while. Steve wanted to get up and bang metal to metal to draw any searchers their way sooner, but he didn't want to upset the balance he had worked so hard to achieve. So, he sat there, content in the comfort he was providing to Charlie and the comfort Charlie was providing to him.

With a lack of anything to do and not wanting to fall asleep in case he heard a hint of a rescue, Steve watched the light from the flashlight. He could see the moment it dimmed, ever so slightly, but it had definitely dimmed. He held his breath a minute to see if he felt a reaction from the tired body beside him. Nothing. Maybe he didn't notice. He bent his head down and to the side as best he could to see Charlie's face without disturbing him and, in that fading light, saw the exhausted tyke had fallen asleep.

He smiled and stretched his free arm forward to reach the light. His fingertips barely touched it but he was able to roll it in his direction until he could get a better grip on it. When he did, he slid the switch on the side. Everything went dark and he was left with his thoughts.

_Danny was going to kill him…_

* * *

_~to be continued~_

\,,,/


	5. Chapter 5

Danny had gone to bed the night before with every intention of sleeping in the next morning, but somehow, he found himself up early that Saturday. His evening had not been as restful as he had hoped because he had found himself waking every couple of hours wondering what Charlie and Steve were doing, if they were having a good time, or if they were sleeping.

It was still dark outside at this early hour and he chose to only turn on the stove light to allow his eyes to acclimate. After pouring his first cup of coffee, he scooted one of the cereal boxes over so he'd have a little room to set his cup down. He was careful to make sure the Battleship game wasn't disturbed so it could be resumed when Charlie got back. As he reached for his phone so he could check on the local news, it lit up with an incoming call.

"Mornin', Duke," Danny's voice was still gravelly from sleep. He tilted the phone away from his mouth so he could cough to clear his throat.

"Sorry to call so early."

"No, no, it's okay. I was actually up already. What's up, Duke? Are you working on a Saturday?"

"Well, technically, I'm off duty but I got a call from the captain and he wanted me to reach out to Five-0. I didn't get an answer when I tried calling McGarrett."

"Yeah, he um, he's with Charlie at an overnight camp and is out-of-pocket for a while. Unplugging was one of the conditions. What's going on?"

"One of our guys got a call from one of his CIs with a tip. It was about the Vargas cartel. Sounds like Ledford's reemerged."

The fog in Danny's head dissipated in an instant. Danny remembered right away the long hours put in, leading up to the day the team took down Mario Vargas. The shootout had ended in several arrests, a handful of casualties, including a couple of fatalities, and the confiscation of a giant shipment of cocaine. The team had been lucky they had gotten out of that mess with their lives. And though they hadn't fully given up, it had seemed the one cartel member that had made it out of the fray was destined to remain in the wind.

"Trustworthy?" Danny inquired of Duke.

"She's come through for us before."

"She?"

"She's a waitress in a 24-hour greasy spoon near Pearl City. Said she knew Ledford before he disappeared, but according to her, he's come out from under his rock. She saw him a couple of hours ago when he came into the diner. She said he had a young boy with him that looked scared and that they appeared to be in a hurry. They got some breakfast and left."

Danny felt a chill skitter down his back. Whenever a tender age child was involved, it struck a special chord with him.

Duke continued, "She won't come forward. She normally only talks to her handler and only did this time because of the boy. I think the intel's good but I think she's skittish and will talk to Five-0 only if it's on her territory."

"All right. Send me the address to the diner and I'll get a hold of Steve. We'll get on it."

"I thought he was unreachable."

"Almost, but not completely. I think he'll want in on this one. Thanks, Duke. We'll be in touch."

After quickly showering and getting dressed, he tried Steve's phone for good measure but, as expected, got the same result as Duke had gotten. While he was getting into his car, he juggled his keys and phone in both hands as he thumbed through his contacts looking for Coach Maki's entry. He hated to call this early knowing the whole group probably had a late night, but they needed to act fast while this lead was fresh. The answer on the other end was as sleepy sounding as he must have been to Duke.

"Hello?"

"Hey Coach, it's Danny Williams."

"Who?"

"Danny… Charlie's dad?" he asked, wondering if he'd catch on without more explanation.

"Oh yeah, sorry, man, yeah I was… "

"It's okay, Coach. I know it's early and I hate to do this to you but I think I'm gonna need to talk to Steve. Can you get his butt up to talk to me?"

"Sure, Danny. I hope nothing is wrong?" Maki rubbed his eyes first with the back of his free hand and then attempted to put his unruly hair into some semblance of order as he got up to get Steve. He took a moment to pull the phone away from his ear to check the time and figured he probably needed to be getting up anyway.

"Just a work issue. I'm needing to pull him in. I'll get Rachel to pick up Charlie… or maybe Jerry can if she can't."

"No worries. Let him stay. We've got plenty of chaperones and I'll look out for him and get him home when we finish. He's had a great time and I'd hate to spoil it for him."

"Well, if you're sure. I'm sure he'd like that, but Steve, on the other hand, will be my problem child. I bet he's been like a kid in a candy store, hasn't he?"

"He may have had a better time than anyone."

"Figures."

"Here, I'll let you ask… him your… Steve?" There was a pause and it sounded like Maki had taken the phone away from his mouth. "Steve?"

Danny heard another muffled voice in the background and then Maki spoke again. "Hey, have you guys seen Steve… and Charlie? … Hey, Danny, they're not in their beds. They're probably in the bathroom or waiting for breakfast in the mess area. Do you want me to have him call you right back?"

"He probably jumped off the boat for his morning swim. Yeah, just have him call me when you see them."

"Will do. I'll head that direction now. It should just be a minute."

"'kay. Thanks, Maki."

One minute went by, then another, and after only ten minutes that seemed like thirty, Danny was already pulling up at the diner and he still hadn't gotten his return call. He started to try Steve's phone again thinking he may be taking his sweet time getting back to him just to get under his skin, but his phone rang first. It was Coach Maki.

"Don't tell me. McGarrett's not there because he's trying to get the Navy to give authorization to take the ship out to sea," Danny answered without a greeting.

Coach Maki ignored the quip. "We can't find them."

"Sorry, Maki, my ears are still waking up. Sounded like you said you can't find them."

"I did. They're not in the bunks, the bathrooms, the mess deck…"

"And when you say 'them', who are you talking about?"

"Steve and… Charlie. We can't find Tyler and his dad, either."

"Damn it. I swear, if he went out for pancakes, I'll kill him."

"That'd be a waste cause that's what we're having for breakfast."

"All right, look, I'm close by. I was going to have him meet me to interview a witness, but I'm going to do this without him then I'll be right over. If you find him first, put him in the brig or something 'til I get there."

"Sure thing. We've got the camp administrator on it, too. I'm sure by the time you get here, they'll have shown up. See ya in a bit."

Danny entered the diner and, in his normal casual dressy work attire, stood out like a sore thumb among the few patrons that were there. A waitress with her dark hair pulled into a high ponytail glanced over her shoulder as she finished topping off a customer's cup of coffee. She turned her attention back to her table and reached in her pocket and pulled out some creamers and laid them on the table before approaching Danny with the carafe still in her hand.

"You can sit anywhere. We don't have a hostess," she sarcastically stated.

Danny took the hint and slid into the first open booth he saw. He flipped over the mug that was already on the table and she poured him a cup.

"I know why you're here, all right?" she spoke quietly. The woman's unusually light aqua color eyes were dancing around the restaurant to see if anyone was in tune to their conversation. "Our specials are on the back side. You know what you want or you got questions?" She spoke louder.

Danny took note of the name on her nametag, Charlene. "Look, I'll get right to it. What time was Ledford here?" He returned the equally hushed voice to accommodate her apparent comfort level.

"It was sometime around two or three. They ate and left."

"And there was a child with him?"

She nodded. "A young boy. When I asked, he said he was his son."

"His son?" Danny sounded surprised.

"Mm, hm. I've known EJ a long time, but this time... he was acting strange and never had a kid with him before. And at that time of the morning? I'm not so sure he was his son. He never told me he had a kid."

"Do you know about how old he was?"

She shrugged and set the coffee on the table and reached into her pocket and pulled out a phone. She tapped a couple of times and then laid the phone down on the table in front of him. "I took that from the kitchen when I felt the whole thing seemed off."

Danny looked at the photo and squinted. He picked up the device and zoomed into the photo with his fingers and leaned in closer.

"What is it?" She seemed interested in his odd reaction. Wrongly assuming the reason, she apologized. "Sorry, I know it's hard to see EJ from that angle, but you can see…"

"That's…" Danny stared at the phone a minute to make sure he was seeing what he thought he was seeing. Then his mind went to Maki's revelation that not only were Steve and Charlie missing, but so was Tyler and his dad. "Hang on a minute." Danny pulled out his phone and scrolled through some pictures until he found what he was looking for. He handed it to Charlene and pointed at a man standing in a group. "Is that EJ?"

She shook her head. "No… but that's the kid." She pointed out the picture of Tyler standing in front of the man Danny had asked about. "How do you have that?"

"His name is Tyler. He's on my son's baseball team. That's his dad behind him."

"Well, that's not EJ. Not sure who he is." She had to quickly back up to give Danny room when he scooted out of his seat. He appeared to be a man-on-a-mission.

"Was anyone else with them?"

Charlene felt the swing in this cop's mood to one of obvious worry. She discarded the hushed pretense from earlier to match his volume. "No."

"Are you sure? You didn't see anyone else around? Another man or another little boy?"

"No! It was just the two of them. I'm sure. Why? What's going on?"

Danny ignored her question. "Did EJ say where he was heading after leaving here?"

"They were killing time before meeting Whitey."

"Whitey. Who's Whitey?"

"He runs a charter boat out of Rainbow Bay Marina. I don't know. They just call him Whitey."

"Do you know what kind of vehicle EJ was driving?"

"Nope. Didn't see it. Sorry."

Danny looked to the front of the diner and could see his car through the window sitting in the parking lot. Why would she not see his? He turned back and breathed out a disappointed sigh. He stared at her a few seconds as he thought. "Are you going to be here a while?"

"Shift's up at 9:00."

"Okay." Before leaving, he took a minute to enter his contact information onto Charlene's phone then returned it to her. "I've got to go, but if you think of anything else, call me right away."

"Sure, no problem."

"Anything!"

"Got it," she promised.

He retrieved his phone and reached in his pocket and pulled out a small wad of bills. He started to count out some ones for the coffee he never touched, but that took too much time so he pushed the folded money into Charlene's hand and left with a hurried, "Just keep it. Thank you." He all but jogged out the door.

Danny felt torn. He wanted to go to Rainbow Bay, but he needed to get to the Missouri. He wasn't far from either, but he couldn't be in both places at once. As he drove, he called Lou. This time, he didn't spare a second to apologize for the hour. He knew he was leaving out a lot of information that he'd have to fill in later, but for now, he just gave him the bare necessities.

"Lou, I'll explain later, but you need to grab Tani and Junior and get to Rainbow Bay Marina… now! I got info that EJ Ledford from the Vargas cartel was going to be there this morning. Hopefully we haven't missed him. There's a boat that should be registered to a Whitey. That's the only name I have, but there're not many slips there."

"Yeah, man, got it." Any other time, Lou would have complained or offered a sarcastic comment, but he could hear a seriousness in Danny's voice that was not usually there.

"You need to know, there's a young boy with him, Charlie's age. His name is Tyler and his safety is the most important thing. Make sure the kids know that."

"Yep, I'll call them now. You meeting us there?"

"No, I'm going to the Missouri."

"What? You know, never mind. Tell me later. I'm looking forward to hearing this story."

"I'm here. I gotta go. Lou? …just be careful."

* * *

 

_~to be continued~_

\,,,/


	6. Chapter 6

 

* * *

Danny stared at the ship with apprehension. He had seen the vessel many times before, but this time it was his haystack and the needle was two beloved members of his family. The task seemed overwhelming, but he knew he was wasting precious time wallowing in his anxiety.

Coach Maki stayed with the group while Ed met Danny at the gangplank. After hasty introductions, Danny followed Ed onto the ship, peppering him with questions as they walked. He knew the answer to the first question, but he asked anyway.

"Have they shown up?"

"No. We're still looking."

"Damn it. So, when's the last time anybody saw them?"

"Everyone hit the sack close to midnight. Trevor said he saw Charlie go to the bathroom and soon after, he told Commander McGarrett and he followed after him."

"Do you know what time that was?"

"Hard to say. Trevor guesses it was a couple hours after they went to bed."

The pair arrived at the mess where the others were gathered. Coach Maki joined them at the side of the larger room and shook Danny's hand.

"Hey, sorry about all this, man. I'm clueless," Maki admitted, shaking his head in bewilderment.

"Come on, it's not your fault," Danny tried to ease any guilt Maki may be feeling. "We're going to find them."

"You joked earlier about him going out for pancakes, do you think he and Charlie _would_ have left without telling anyone?" Coach Maki asked.

"Don't think so. His truck's still in the parking lot and he wouldn't have left his phone _and_ he wouldn't have taken Charlie without letting me know. So, tell me about Tyler and his dad. Jon, is it?"

"No. Jon is his stepdad. His biological father, Jim, joined Tyler for this camp."

"Jim? Jim Worsham?"

Maki shook his head. "Tyler has gone by his stepfather's name for years. I'll get the registrations and find Jim's name. Be right back."

Danny turned his attention back to Ed while they waited. "Well, so tell me where things stand right now."

"We only had one other employee here last night besides me. He's been helping me look. He's checking the armory level now because we found a door that's usually closed and blockaded open. We had an idea; the Commander almost took over the tour last night."

"Not surprising," Danny mumbled.

Ed continued, "We kind of thought with the Commander's knowledge and level of interest, he may be doing his own personal tour and reminiscing around the gun turrets."

"Can you take me there?"

"Sure. It's not far from here."

They had only taken a few steps down the hallway, when Maki caught up with them holding a file folder, his finger holding a place inside. "Wait up! I got it. Tyler's mom filled out the form, but she put Jim's name on here as Edwin James…"

"…Ledford," Danny finished his sentence.

Maki looked up at Danny with a surprised look on his face. "Why, yes. It is Ledford. How'd you know?"

"Lucky guess," Danny downplayed. A sick flutter rolled through his stomach. He put one hand on the back of his head and turned away from the others, letting the confirmation sink in.

"We were just heading to the armory entrance," Ed informed Maki. "We're going to check in with Tom and see if he's found anything."

"I probably need to get back with the team. If I can do anything, though, let me know," Maki offered.

Danny turned back to the pair. The hand that had made its way to the back of his tense neck moved to connect with Maki's arm. "Thanks, Coach. You take care of the team. We'll keep you informed."

Danny and Ed continued in the direction of the armory deck entrance, when Danny abruptly put his arm out and stopped Ed in his tracks. "Hold up."

"What?" Ed seemed perplexed.

"Where does that go?"

"The levels below."

"Is the hatch always open?"

"Yes, it's like that for the visitors to see, but we keep that barrier up with the sign and stress the importance of staying away."

"I want to go down there."

"But, I think we'd have better luck with Tom."

"It's been moved," Danny resolutely pressed.

"What?" Ed was confused.

"The stanchion… it's been moved. Do you all ever go through there?"

"We're on the lower levels all the time. The day tours even go down there, but from the other end of the ship. There's easier access."

"Well someone's been down there recently. The tiles are faded everywhere except in that one spot." Danny moved the stanchion over the darker round circle to demonstrate. "And see, scuff marks."

Ed's silence demonstrated his acceptance of Danny's hypothesis, or at least his willingness to consider it as viable. Danny had already moved the barrier to the side and was descending the steps without waiting for approval.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

As soon as he saw the bar that had been run through the door handle, Danny knew he had found what he was looking for.

"Steve?! Charlie?!" He allowed a second to bang on the door with his open palm as he yelled, but then he went to work on getting the makeshift bolt off the door.

Ed stood several steps behind him in shock at what he was seeing. _How could this have happened? Who could have done this?_

Thinking Ed was right behind him, Danny turned to hand the bar to him but at seeing his dumbfounded expression, he quickly abandoned that idea and tossed the bar to the side. The metal bar landed on the floor with a loud clank and equally loud follow-up reverberations, awaking Ed from his stupor. Ed rushed over to help Danny get the door open. Danny's heart dropped as he saw the darkness inside. He had been wrong.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

Steve heard the commotion, the banging, and the familiar voice calling his name. He grinned.

His partner had found them, not Ed, or Maki, or other searchers. His partner, a scared dad searching for his son, had found them. He didn't respond, didn't answer, didn't move. Even as light from the now-well-lit hallway finally flooded into the room, he was content just to know they had been found. He sat with his arm wrapped around an exhausted, sleeping little boy. Charlie would be safe in his Danno's arms in no time.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

No one would have ever noticed Danny's hesitation, but he _did_ hesitate. He would tell himself it was because the room was pitch black dark and he thought they had come to a dead end, but he could tell the room was tiny and if he were honest with himself, he'd have to admit he hesitated. The light from the hallway partially seeped into the dark room and Danny stepped in, squinting in an attempt to help his eyes acclimate faster. His pessimistic side had won out with his assumption the room was empty, but he was checking anyway because he had to confirm. He didn't even bother to call their names any longer as he stepped in, sure that they would have to continue their search elsewhere. Then he saw the outstretched legs and he felt reinvigorated.

"Steve?" The alarmed energy in his voice from moments ago was gone. The unusually relaxed utterance seemed normal.

"Hey, Danny." Steve reciprocated the composed tone.

Danny's eyes were adjusting and he could see his son curled up in the bend of Steve's arm beside him, obviously asleep and still unaware of the rescue. No longer having to worry about the battery running out, Steve turned on the flashlight again to add more light to the room. Danny bent over, resting his hands on his knees and let out a cleansing breath. "Are you two okay?"

"Yeah, Danno, we're good." Steve still didn't make a move to get up. "We've just been waiting for you to join the party."

Charlie stirred when his subconscious heard his uncle say the familiar name. His eyes squinted open and he looked totally confused as to where he was. "Danno?"

"Yep, buddy. It's me." Danny stepped over Steve's legs and reached down to lift the boy into his arms. He drew him in close for a hug and held the embrace a little too long for Charlie's liking. He started to wiggle and push himself back to see his dad's face.

"Danno, I think I'm ready to go home."

"You got it. I was just thinking the same thing." Without letting go of Charlie, Danny reached his hand down to Steve's to help pull him up to standing.

"Tyler's dad hurt Uncle Steve."

Danny's eyes widened and focused on his partner. "What?"

"I'm fine, but yeah, we need to find Tyler's dad. He's…"

"EJ Ledford, otherwise known as Edwin James or Jim."

"Yeah. How did you know?"

"Detective." The one-word explanation was meant to sound condescending.

Ed, who had been standing right outside the door watching, added, "He's a good one at that. We were searching in a totally different area of the ship, but Detective Williams found something we missed which led us down here."

"I think ole EJ tried to throw us off the trail by leaving the door to the armory level open," Danny explained. He looked around the small room and felt uncomfortable. "Let's get out of here." He carried Charlie out into the hallway where the light was better and Steve followed. "Oh, yeah. I see now. Looks like he walloped you pretty good." He couldn't help but touch the bump on the side of Steve's head.

Steve winced and drew away from the touch. "Stop it. I said it's fine." Steve still needed to know how much Danny knew about EJ and then help to find him. "Look, Ledford's Tyler's biological father. He took off with him a couple of hours ago. We need to go after him."

" _I_ need to get my son home and _you_ need to get that head looked at. I know you've got a thick skull and all, but you could have a concussion."

"You get Charlie home. I'm going after EJ." Steve walked away.

"You going in your bare feet and PJs, babe?! I thought sure they'd be camo," he mumbled that last thought. "And _where_ are you going to look for him?!" Danny yelled out after him.

Steve stopped but didn't turn around. He put his hands on his hips and let his head fall forward. Danny was right. He didn't know where EJ had gone. He didn't know where to start.

"Sorry about that," Danny apologized to Ed as he pointed his thumb toward the broken bar he had left on the floor.

"No, no, it's fixable. It's just… I…" Ed stumbled for the words.

"I know. Don't worry about it. If you were around him more, you'd get used to it."

Steve turned and rolled his eyes at his partner. "Can we go?" Steve spoke impatiently.

Danny and Ed started down the hallway to join Steve. "So, _now_ you're in a hurry?" Danny contrasted this with his reluctance to break his hold with Charlie a few minutes before. Steve began walking again and Ed and Danny followed.

They hadn't made it to the steps yet when Danny's phone buzzed. Danny stopped and set Charlie down and took the call.

"Lou, give me some good news."

"We got'em. HPD's loading him up now."

The tension in Danny's shoulders and face deflated with the news. "What about Tyler… the boy that was with him? Did you get him? Is he safe?"

"Yep, he's fine. A little dazed and definitely wiped out, but he'll be fine."

Steve stood staring at Danny as he listened to the one-sided conversation, riveted by what he was hearing. Danny kept the phone to his ear but turned it away from his mouth to whisper to Steve, "They got Ledford. It's over." He put the phone back in place as he listened to Lou.

"We almost missed him," Lou recounted. "The boat he was going to be taking off the island was starting to leave when we got there. He gave up, though, without incident. Believe it or not, I think he was still concerned for his boy. Didn't want him to get hurt."

"Wow, give _him_ the father-of-the-year award. So… I'm going to get Charlie back to Rachel and our fearless leader to the doctor then I'll meet you at the office for the lowdown."

"The doctor? What happened to McGarrett?"

"Oh, the usual. Got a bump on the head. Says he's fine. You know the drill."

"Can we do anything to help?"

"We'll need to get HPD over here to process, but I can manage the boys."

"All right. I'll get in touch with Duke and we'll see you at the palace later. Can't wait to hear this one. I feel like it's been a full day, but we're just getting started."

"You got that right. See ya, Lou." Danny finished his call and realized he owed Steve some information. Steve was eyeing him like a hungry dog, chomping at the bit for a steak, but waiting for his owner's go.

"You're an animal. Can we get upstairs first?"

Steve reluctantly conceded, knowing it would do no good to press Danny at the moment.

Once upstairs, Steve checked in with the concerned campers and let Coach Maki in on a summary of the events of the previous evening. In the meantime, Danny took a few moments to question Charlie.

"Are you sure you're okay? No boo boos or anything?"

Charlie shook his head. "I'm okay."

"Aaallll right, …if you're sure."

"I am. Danno, did you get to see the cool models? They're behind glass. You don't get to touch them, but they're cooool. Kinda like the one Uncle Steve has in his office. There are offices here too but they aren't as cool as Uncle Steve's. It's kinda like a city, they have a post office and school rooms and…"

"Okay, buddy. I want to hear all of the 'cool' details but right now I want to get you home. You've had a long night… and I want to get Uncle Steve to see a doctor about that head."

"His hard head?"

Danny smiled. Someone had been paying attention to him. "Yes, his hard head. Even hard heads can get hurt."

"Sorry I didn't do so good looking out for Uncle Steve."

"Buddy, you did just fine. I'm very proud of you." Danny wanted to change the subject. "How 'bout you tell me all about the 'cool' stuff when we finish our Battleship Game?"

"Okay, Danno. Are you sure you didn't peek at my board?"

"I promise." Danny barely got the words out before Charlie let out a long yawn. "See what I mean. Let's go, Captain America."

Charlie giggled as Danny swept him over his shoulder and tickled his side.

"'ey! Steve!" Danny motioned with his free arm for Steve to follow. Steve said his goodbyes and they left together.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

Charlie had been a trooper. He'd managed to stay awake on the way home, but he had been in somewhat of a daze and had remained uninterested in the conversation that went on in the front seat. Danny had given Steve the watered-down version of what he had done that morning, touching only on the highlights so Steve would get the gist.

Having dropped Charlie off at Rachel's, Danny now pulled into the hospital parking lot and put the Camaro in park while it idled with the air on. The drive from Rachel's house to the hospital wasn't long enough for Steve to finish telling his whole story, so they sat in the car where it was quiet and while they had each other's full attention.

"I should have been there," Danny stated dejectedly.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm his dad. If I'd been there, doing my dad duties, then…"

"…then what? Everything would have gone down the same way but it would've been _me_ rescuing _your_ butt."

"No, no. That's not true. _I_ would have recognized Ledford right away. _I'd_ have locked his ass up last night and enjoyed the rest of the camp with my son."

"Yeah, right. I don't think so."

"You don't think so?"

"You are a great detective and all, but this guy looked different. You wouldn't have known."

Danny took a second to reflect on the comment, recognizing that he had just gotten a compliment of sorts from his compliment-stingy partner. "Uh, I'll agree to disagree."

"So, you're not a great detective?"

"Idiot. I'll agree to disagree that I wouldn't have known Ledford."

"Of course, you will, so I know you'll disagree with this, but _you_ would have been the one to tangle with Ledford and _you_ would have been the one to end up in that…" Steve stopped mid-sentence when the path brought something else to mind, not sure if he wanted to go there. He decided to adjust the direction he was going. "You know something? Charlie is just like you."

"Careful, you're going to get whiplash to go with that bump on your head. I know Charlie is just like me. He's tough, strong, resilient, just like his old man, but I'm sure you had something else in mind, so I'll bite. Let me have it."

"No, it's true. Did you hear him? Going on like nothing even happened. I'd say he's very _much_ resilient."

"'kay, but I feel like you had more in mind."

"Well, now that you ask, did you know that Charlie has claustrophobia 'just like his old man'?" He opted to get right to the point rather than drag this out anymore.

"Come on."

"No, I mean it. He's you in little form. He's a Mini-Danno."

"Cute, Steven."

"Really, man, he almost had a panic attack in that room. Took me back to the building collapse."

"What?" Danny was having a hard time processing this information. There was a part of him that believed it, but the other part was fighting it because he didn't want to believe it.

Steve nodded.

"Wait. You're telling me, my son, Charlie, the one that calls you uncle, is afraid of small places and confinement?"

Steve continued to nod without saying a word.

"What happened in there? He seemed fine."

"He kept staring at the door, saying he wanted to leave…"

"Well, that's just normal. Anyone in the same position would have done that."

"What I saw wasn't normal. His breathing became hard and irregular. He began to sweat and complained of feeling sick."

"I don't believe this. Why didn't he tell me? Why didn't _you_ tell me?"

"I just did. It's not like I had much opportunity before."

"So, what did you do? How did you talk him down?"

"I used your trick, and it worked. I had him recite each player on his team with their positions. He did it and by the time he finished he was in a much better place. He calmed down and fell asleep a little while later. That's where he stayed 'til you found us."

Danny curled his lips down as he thought of the implications. "Okay, so I wonder what I need to do about it?"

"It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to get him in to see someone. Maybe they can help before he gets older and it gets bad."

"You mean, like me?"

"No… well, maybe."

"'kay, you're probably right, and speaking of getting in to see someone, we need to get you in here to get that head checked out."

"All right." Steve put his hand on the door handle. "I love that you care about me," he goofy-grinned at Danny.

"Putz. Let's go."

* * *

_~to be continued~_

\,,,/


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Thank you so much for giving this story a try and for the support. I so appreciate the comments, kudos, bookmarks, and subscriptions. It's encouraging.

I'm always down when ending a story, but I'll just move on to the next. We'll see where the muse takes me. I'm as curious as you are. I hope you've enjoyed this latest story and hope you'll enjoy this final chapter.

Sorry for the delay in posting. Thanks again!

BronsonL \,,,/

* * *

 

Danny was not supposed to see Charlie again until his game the following Tuesday, but after what Steve had told him, he decided to make a special trip to Rachel's house that same night.

"Hi, Rach. Sorry to just drop in, but I wanted to see how Charlie was doing."

"It's okay. Come on in." Rachel stepped back from the door so Danny could enter. He leaned in and gave her a light kiss on her cheek in greeting.

"You're looking good." He meant it. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun on the back of her head and she had a dishtowel flung over her shoulder. She had obviously been doing some housework, something that was a new activity to her since Stan had moved out. Although Stan had made sure to leave her and the kids in a comfortable position, she was making an effort to not be as frivolous with her spending as before and one of the ways was to discharge the cleaning lady and do the task herself. The pale, cloud blue oversized sweatshirt that she had paired with her khaki clamdiggers showed off her eyes. This was not a look Danny was used to seeing on his ex-wife in recent years, but it took him back to their early days and he liked it.

"You're an absolutely hideous liar." She swept her hand over her hair, unconsciously putting non-existent fly-away strands back in place.

Danny stood in the foyer and smiled a simple, unassuming smile.

Rachel gave in. "Thank you." She closed the door. "How is Steve?"

"He's a royal pain in… Oh, you mean how is he."

Rachel was used to Danny's snark and allowed him the usual release.

"Well, in his words, he's 'fine'. He'll be nursing a concussion for a few days but he's no worse for the wear. Well, maybe a little worse."

"I'm glad he's well… relatively speaking that is. Charlie's in his room."

"Okay, thanks." Danny started down the hallway toward his son's room.

"Danny?"

Danny turned back to Rachel. "Yeah?"

"Charlie's also doing well. Um, and I just wanted to thank you."

Danny tweaked a slight grin and gave a knowing nod then turned to go to Charlie's room.

"Hey, Charlie."

"Hi, Danno." Charlie got a big smile on his face as he looked up from the large book that was open on his crossed legs as he sat on the floor leaning against his bed.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt your reading."

"It's okay."

"Can I talk to you a minute?" Danny sat on the edge of his bed and patted the spot beside him as Charlie closed his book and wiggled his way up to sit beside his dad. Danny encircled his arm protectively around Charlie's back and propped his hand on the bed without actually touching his son. "I just wanted to see how you were doing after the camp last night?"

"Okay. I had fun. The games were fun and Uncle Steve showed me some cool stuff."

"Yep, he does that," Danny mumbled. "I mean, what happened after the games… with Tyler's dad…"

Charlie's expression fell and his eyes moved from Danny to one of the walls in the room. He shrugged and almost incoherently spoke "I dunno."

Danny's heart sank. He started to second guess that he shouldn't even be there at all, much less bring up the frightening memory, but he decided to trust his original instincts and plodded on.

"You know, Uncle Steve told me that being in that room made you…" scared. He was going to say scared, but paused and chose a different word, uncomfortable. "…uncomfortable."

Charlie shrugged again as he looked at the floor now. "It was small."

Danny looked away and nodded in understanding and confirmation of what Steve said.

"I wanted out."

Danny was glad Charlie was opening up a little with him. "Yep, it was small. I don't like places like that either, but it's okay to have those feelings. Sometimes people are 'uncomfortable' in certain situations when other people are not. That's just because God made us all different. It's okay." Danny leaned down to try to get Charlie to look at him and was rewarded when he did. "And it means you're a lot more like your old man than I thought." He smiled sweetly at his son. "Your Uncle Steve wouldn't admit it, but that's a good thing."

"Old man?"

"Well, not that old. It's just an expression. You know, meaning your dad… me."

"I'm glad I'm like you, Danno. Maybe I'll be a hero someday, too."

"I'm sure you will, Charlie. I'm sure you will. Just don't grow up on me too soon. 'kay?"

"Okay."

"Love ya, buddy." Danny now embraced him in a one-armed squeeze as they sat on the edge of the bed together.

"Love you more, Danno."

~~~~~H50~~~~~

The following Tuesday evening, Danny came out of the detention center and joined Steve who was waiting outside, sitting on a concrete wall by the sidewalk.

"Well, how'd it go in there?" Steve asked.

"You were there."

"I mean after I left."

"EJ's not a big fan of Five-0 right now, is he?"

"Definitely not, and may I say, you did a good job of restraining yourself from choking the life out of him."

"You know you wanted to as well," Danny accused his partner. Steve stood up and they both started walking toward the car. "Now don't get me wrong. You know if anyone threatens or puts my kids in danger, or you either, babe…" he smiled insincerely.

"You're so sweet," Steve came back at him.

"…I'm not going to let anything or anybody keep me from protecting those I love."

"Ah, you love me."

"Yeah, I love you, you putz. However, Ledford knows he's going away for a long time, but I sense a little regret, possibly even contrition. He's made some bad choices in his life and probably had a few bad breaks, but he's accepting responsibility. I think he really does love Tyler but just hasn't known how to show it. I'm hoping for reconciliation when he gets out. Tyler will be an adult, but I hope he gives him a chance."

"Wow, I'm impressed, partner. That's really big of you."

"Well we talked, or should I say, I talked about what it's like being a dad that your kids can look up to and I think he might have listened."

"You know, Tyler's got some things to sort through also. From what I witnessed, he has some bullying issues that need to be dealt with. I'm sure having EJ Ledford as an influence in his life didn't help. I'm going to talk to his parents to see if he can get the help he needs."

"I'll go with you when you do, if you want me to," Danny offered.

"Sounds good, buddy."

When they got to the car, Danny went to the driver's side.

"I know you're enjoying it, but don't get used to being in that seat. Today's my last day on concussion protocol."

"I would never. I'm just surprised you've abided by the rules this long."

"I abide by the rules..."

"Oh, okay." Danny sarcastically sounded unconvinced.

"… when I need to."

"That's more like it. Guess that's as close as I'll get to the truth out of you."

"Just step on it. Would 'ya? We're already running late."

"Take it easy. There are six innings. We'll be fine."

"Fine." Steve blew out a heavy breath and began to impatiently gnaw on the bend of his index finger as he stared out his window.

Danny smiled in silent satisfaction.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

The pair walked up as the team was coming off the field as the top of the first inning had just ended. They made their way through a small crowd toward Lou, Will, and Grace who were already on the bleachers. They were met with a warmer welcome than usual from the other parents, getting some literal pats on the back and inquiries about Steve's well-being. They gratefully accepted their well wishes as they found their seats. Danny wanted to give Grace a hug, but refrained to save his daughter the embarrassment. He settled for fist bumps for Lou and Will and a risky smile and "Hey, Monkey" for Grace.

Charlie vigorously waved when he saw them. "Hi, Danno! Hi, Uncle Steve!"

"Hey, Charlie!" Steve yelled out.

"Would ya sit down? You're embarrassing yourself." Danny smiled broadly at Charlie as he waved back, hoping his partner would learn a lesson by example in ballgame, and parenting, etiquette.

Steve sat, still smiling and waving at Charlie. "You mean I'm embarrassing you."

"That, too. Well look who's here." Tani and Junior joined their ohana in the bleachers. "So, you two came together? Is this like a date or something?"

Junior's eyes got wide in horror and Tani smiled in amusement but looked down and covered her mouth with her hand to hide it. "No, sir. We, uh, we were both at work and just thought it made sense to ride together."

"Calm down. I'm just messin' with you. Sensitive much?"

Junior seemed to relax a little and Tani seemed unaffected and slightly amused at Junior as well. They sat on the other side of Steve to watch the game.

"Hey, look." Danny nudged Steve and pointed to the left field fence. "I'll be right back."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"Nope. I got it."

Danny stepped up to the Worshams who were standing outside the fence watching the game. He laid his hand on Jon Worsham's shoulder to announce his presence. Jon turned around and smiled and shook Danny's hand. Jenny turned to see who had joined them and she, too, took Danny's hand. He put his other hand comfortingly over her's and leaned in for a peck on her cheek.

"Danny, I… I don't know what to say," Jenny said. This was the first time she had seen him since Tyler had come home from the ordeal.

"Well, I do," Jon said. "We just want to express how grateful we are for what you and Commander McGarrett did for our son."

"Not necessary."

"How is Commander McGarrett?" Jenny asked.

"Oh, he's as stubborn as ever." He smiled. "But physically? He's fine. He's got a hard head. No biggie." He turned his attention to Tyler who hadn't flinched at his attempt at humor and was being uncharacteristically quiet. "Hey, Tyler. How's it going, buddy?"

Tyler turned from watching his team's at-bat. "All right."

"Good, good. Didn't feel up to playing tonight?"

Tyler shook his head.

"Completely understandable." He wanted to make the boy feel at ease. "Well, I just wanted to let you know, if you need anything or want to talk, I'd be glad to do that. Just let your parents know and we'll set something up. Okay? Maybe we can get some gelato or something."

"Okay."

"That's very generous of you," Jenny offered.

Danny and Tyler's parents were a little surprised when Tyler had something else to say. "Mr. Williams?"

"Yeah, Tyler?"

"Can Charlie go with us? I think I need to tell him I'm sorry for the way I've acted, to him, and to the whole team. Actually, I'd like to tell the whole team."

"Well, that's very grown up of you, Tyler. How 'bout we set up a gelato outing… for the whole team… on me?"

"I'd like that."

"I'd like that, too. Why don't you come and join us on the bleachers? What 'da ya say?"

Tyler looked up to his mom who nodded. Danny and the Worshams joined the others.

Steve leaned over and whispered to Danny, "Looks like it went well."

Danny nodded. "I think so."

Tyler looked back to Steve and seemed to focus on the bruise on Steve's head. "Does that hurt?"

"No. It's still a little ugly, but it doesn't hurt," Steve lied.

"Mr. Williams said you have a hard head."

Danny smiled as he kept his eyes on the field.

"Yes, Tyler. Mr. Williams does say that." Steve glanced sideways at his partner. "There's somebody else that says that, too."

"Who?"

"Charlie Williams." The others were laughing now as they were overhearing the revelation. "Turns out, little Charlie Williams is just like his dad, in more ways than one, but especially when it comes to describing the toughness of my head. I heard him say it myself."

Danny was purposefully pressing his lips together so he wouldn't laugh out loud, still maintaining his smile and his watch on the game. After the laughter from the others died down, he proudly stated, "What can I say? Like father, like son."

"You got that right," Steve wholeheartedly agreed.

They all enjoyed a relaxing evening watching Charlie's team win ten to seven.

* * *

 

_~The End~_

A/N: Thanks for reading. I would love to hear any of your final thoughts.

\,,,/ BronsonL


End file.
